Punctuation marks

help make
meaning clear in
The
written texts.
punctuation
 Punctuation marks
help make
meaning clear in
written texts.
They show the reader:

* where one chunk of meaning

ends and another begins

* where to pause or change tone

when reading aloud.
 full stop shows the end
A sentence of a statement
* starts with a
capital letter
Three
* ends with a .
punctuation
* makes complete marks can show
sense.
the end of a

!
sentence.
question mark
shows the end of
a question
? exclamation mark shows
* raised voice
See also The Sentence Book
* strong feelings
The Complex Sentence Book * an exclamation
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 The comma , separating
separating the off an introductory
items in a list ‘chunk’
Within a
I bought eggs, a pint of
sentence a comma Anyway, I decided
shows where one not to go.
milk, tea and sugar.
Three weeks later,
chunk of meaning James was born.
ends and Although she was only
separating the another begins… three, Gemma knew
her tables.
direct speech from
a reporting clause The introductory ‘chunk’ could be a word,
a phrase or a subordinate clause.
If you remove it, the main clause would
still make sense.

See explanation on direct

speech page.
marking off
extra information
separating off embedded in the
‘tag phrases’ and names sentence
This is great, isn’t it? See also comma Jill, my boss, is
How old are you, John? splice. 28 years old.
 Dash -
A dash gives a break
halfway between , and .

showing a sharp
break between two chunks
of meaning

Both these
chunks are main e.g. It was great to see you
clauses. A comma _
cannot separate
we must meet again.
two main clauses.
marking off extra information
embedded in the sentence

The dash is a feature of informal writing, e.g. On Monday – the first day of our
which echoes speech patterns.
For the formal equivalent, see semicolon. holidays – we explored the beach.

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 Brackets ( )
Brackets show
information which is extra
to the main text…

marking off extra

marking off extra information facts like dates
embedded in the sentence or dimensions

e.g. On Monday (the first day of our e.g. Elizabeth I (1553 – 1603)
holidays) we explored the beach. Mount Everest (8850 m)

Brackets are sometimes call parentheses.

Information in brackets is said to be in
As brackets are very noticeable, they are used parenthesis.
when the writer wishes to draw attention to the Commas and dashes can also enclose
extra information. parenthetic information.
 Semicolon ;
A semi-colon gives a break
halfway between , and .

to separate two
main clauses
to separate lengthy
e.g. It was a great pleasure to meet you
yesterday; I hope we meet again soon. items in a list

The semicolon here is e.g. I surveyed John Street: small, redbrick

like a formal version houses; an ancient church; three brand new
of the dash. bungalows, and a Victorian town house, gone to seed.

When semicolons are used

in a list, there is usually a
comma before the and.

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 Colon :
A colon marks a break
where there is a feeling of
balance between the elements
on either side:

to introduce a list, an
example or a quotation to separate two main
clauses, where the second
clause expands on or
e.g. I surveyed John Street: small, illustrates the first
redbrick houses; an ancient church;
three brand new bungalows,
and a Victorian town house, gone to seed. e.g. It was very cold: the
temperature was below zero.
e.g. I love the first lines of ‘Jabberwocky’:
“’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe…”

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 Direct Speech
comma before the speech marks

* Each new speaker on a ““It’s

I ,” said Cinderella.
late,”
new line.
The prince smiled and
* Speech marks (“ ”) round
answered,, ““Yes, but we have
the direct speech. Y
all the time in the world.””
* Comma between direct
speech and reporting
““What
W time is it?”
?” asked
clause… Cinders. ““I
I must leave
before midnight.””
* …unless there’s a ? or !

* Direct speech begins with “If you must go,” said the
“I ,”
a capital letter… prince, “you’d better hurry.
, “y
It’s 5 to 12.”
* …unless a sentence is I ”
interrupted by the “Oh no!” cried Cinders.
reporting clause. “O !”

See also The Sentence Book, pages 8 – 9.

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 Speech marks
to mark the to show
words in Speech a quotation
direct speech marks
Wordsworth
are also called wrote about an
“Hello,” said the cat.
quotation marks ‘inward eye’.
or inverted
to show commas and
that a word is being
used ironically or
may be used…
to show when you
‘oddly’ are talking about a
There were many ‘experts’
word or phrase
in the audience.
The word ‘exit’ is the Latin
for ‘he goes out’.
to indicate the
title of a book,
film, etc “” ‘’
Double and single speech marks.
Double marks are usually used in handwritten texts.
The book ‘Black Beauty’ was also Single marks are often used in printed texts.
made into a film.
 Hyphen -
A hyphen links words or
parts of words

when they are put

together to make a
e.g. new word

when a word is split be- e.g. mother-in-law

tween two lines of print Irish-American
co-operation

The hyphen differs from the dash in that

• you do not leave a space between the words and the hyphen
• it is half as long.
 Ellipsis …
an ellipsis is
three dots…

to show that a
sentence is unfinished

e.g. to show that a

sentence is…
to show that words
have been missed out
in a quotation

e.g. The hyphen differs from the

dash in that… it is half as long.
 the

su
e of
s ma
m
The comma splice a comma
Mi Co splice
Gemma was worn out, she curled up
on the ground and went to sleep.
Rule of thumb: Rule:
If you could substitute A comma cannot be
a full stop, a comma is used to separate two
probably wrong. You could use main clauses.
alternative punctuation:

Gemma was Gemma was Gemma was Gemma was

worn out. She worn out-she worn out; she worn out: she
curled up on the curled up on the curled up on the curled up on the
ground and ground and ground and ground and
went to sleep. went to sleep. went to sleep. went to sleep.
(see Sentence) (see Dash) (see Semicolon) (see Colon)

or you could add a conjunction, e.g.

Gemma was worn out so she curled up on the ground and went to sleep.
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 The Apostrophe
omission possession
‘s shows ownership
In shortened forms the girl’s coat the children’s
of words, the
home
apostrophe shows the coat belonging
where letters have to the girl the home belonging
to the children
been missed out.
If the owner-noun is
a plural ending in s,
just add ‘
cannot should have you are
can’t should’ve you’re the girls’ coats the princesses’
hats
it is I will does not the coats the hats
it’s I’ll doesn’t belonging to belonging to
the girls the princesses
Other devices for helping make written
language easy to read and understand:
* the use of space
e.g. paragraphing

* organisational devices
e.g. bullet points

* presentational devices
e.g. italic print,
bold print,
underlining,
enlarged print,
CAPITAL LETTERS.
Skeleton Poster Books
for GRAMMAR

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